


Babysitting

by AgreedEquation



Series: Snapshots of a Love Affair [16]
Category: Cricket RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-14 00:03:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4542585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgreedEquation/pseuds/AgreedEquation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dale and Trent look after baby AB for a while.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Babysitting

“Trent?” Dale walked into his garden, finding his boyfriend half asleep on one of the deckchairs. It was still a few days to go until the first match between New Zealand and South Africa, so whenever Dale wasn’t preparing, he spent his time with Trent. Usually this meant hanging out together in or around the house.

“Hmm?” came a lazy response.

“AB just called, asking for a favor,” Dale started, crouching next to the deckchair that Trent was occupying. “He and Danielle haven’t really been out since the baby was born and with the series coming up, AB was wondering if I could look after little AB tonight so they could spend some time together.” They had made dinner plans for that night, but Dale hoped Trent wouldn’t mind too much.

“You already said yes, didn’t you?” Trent asked, lifting his sunglasses. He had been looking forward to their dinner, but he couldn’t help but smile at Dale’s kindness.

Dale bit his lower lip and nodded. “Kinda.”

“Then babysitting it is.”

-

“Er, Dale,” Trent started, crouching in front of Dale. “I’m quite sure that’s not how you’re supposed to be holding a baby.” He reached out and readjusted the position of the baby, making sure his head was properly supported by Dale’s arm. “There you go.”

“I knew that,” Dale said. “I was still getting him into the right position, that’s all.” Okay, maybe he wasn’t, but it had been years since he had last held a baby. “He’s like a little sack of potatoes.” He took the baby’s little hand between his thumb and forefinger. “A cute one, though,” he added, kissing AB’s hand.

“Here’s his bottle.” Trent sat down next to Dale and gave him the milk. “Temperature’s fine, already tested it.”

“Never knew you were so fond of babies,” Dale said as he took the bottle. “There you go, little one.” He put the teat of the bottle into AB’s mouth and smiled when the baby instantly started sucking on it. “Good boy. That’ll make you strong.”

“I have a couple of nieces and nephews, so I’ve done my fair share of babysitting.” He loved children and he looked forward to having kids of his own some day, although he wasn’t sure if that was ever going to happen.

“I bet they all adore you,” Dale said, smiling softly. “Uncle Trent.”

-

“What are you still doing here?” Trent whispered. He glanced at the crib to check on the baby. He was fast asleep and didn’t have a care in the world. “AB’s sleeping.”

“I just want to make sure he’s okay,” Dale answered and rubbed his eyes. He could use some sleep himself, but he was afraid that when he left the room, things would go terribly wrong with the baby and he wouldn’t be there for him.

“He’s fine,” Trent said as he picked up the baby monitor. “If he wakes up, we’ll hear.” When he saw Dale wasn’t moving, he simply sat down on his lap and wrapped his arm around Dale’s shoulder. “He’s not going to stop breathing, you know.”

“How did you know I was worried about that?”

“Because everyone looking after babies is worried about that.” Trent smiled and tucked a few strands of hair behind Dale’s ear. “The first time my aunt asked me to look after my baby niece on my own, I went to check on her every five minutes to make sure she was still breathing.” The room was pretty dark, but he could still see the worry lines on Dale’s forehead; he wasn’t going to budge. “I’ll get you a cup of tea.”

Dale had never really considered having kids of his own. He had been enjoying single life way too much before Trent had come along. Kids had never crossed his mind. But now that some of his close friends had become parents, or were about to, he was starting to wonder: could he be a father?

When Trent returned, Dale was still in deep thought. “Penny for your thoughts,” he said, offering his boyfriend a steaming cup of tea. The rocking chair Dale was occupying was the only chair in the room, so Trent sat down on the fuzzy carpet.

“Do you think I would be a good dad?”

“Are you kidding me?” Trent replied and carefully put down his own teacup. “You’re the kindest man I have ever met. You care so much about others. You’d be a fantastic dad.” He wasn’t really sure they should be talking about parenthood this early in their relationship. If they both agreed they wanted kids, they couldn’t. Even if they could adopt one, their lives didn’t permit them to have children, not in the near future anyway. “And you’re being a fantastic uncle to little AB.”

Dale looked down at Trent with a smile. “I’m not his uncle. But thanks.”

“Maybe not by blood, but I’m sure you’ll be there for him as an uncle would be.” They had only spent a few hours with the baby and Trent could tell that Dale already loved the boy. Despite having the image of being a tough and aggressive man, Dale was incredibly generous with his love and affection.

-

Dale was fast asleep in the rocking chair when little AB woke up. Trent hunched over the crib and picked up the baby, rocking him in his arms. “Hush, you’ll wake up your uncle Dale like that,” he whispered and carried the baby out of the room.

Trent made his way to the living room and lay down on the sofa, resting the AB on his chest. “Okay, little one,” he started while rubbing the boy’s back to keep him calm. “You and I need to have a little word.” The weight and warmth of the baby on his chest made him feel all fuzzy inside. Maybe his desire to have a child of his own was bigger than he had known. “When you grow up, you might become a cricket player like your dad,” he said. “If you do, there’s no doubt you’ll be a star. But there’s one thing you need to do for me: go easy on the New Zealand boys. If you’re anything like your dad, you’ll have the ability to make the best bowlers in the world look like a bunch of clowns. Spare them every once in a while, would you?” He picked up a teddy bear that was lying nearby. “It would make me and Mr. Snuggles very happy.”

“Oi.” AB suddenly appeared behind the sofa. “Don’t listen to him,” he said, reaching down to pick up his son. “Whatever you choose to do, I expect you to always do your best. You’ll beat them all.” He kissed little AB’s forehead, looking at the baby boy in adoration. “Where’s Dale?”

“In the baby room. Asleep,” Trent answered and stood up, still holding the teddy bear. “I’ll go get him and then we’ll be out of your hair.”

“No need to hurry.” AB sent Trent a smile. “Thanks for coming over. I really appreciate it.” He wondered how people would react if they knew that Trent Boult, New Zealand fast bowler had been looking after his newborn son. They would frown, no doubt, but he was glad that they had become such good friends in such a short period of time.


End file.
